(AN: Though this chapter has direct quotes from City of Ashes, I do not own it and do not mean any infringement by using it. It is merely there to push the story further along. Please don't sue. Also, the "chapter song" for this chapter is "Come Undone" by Vanessa Carlton and can be found on YouTube. Enjoy.)
When You Say Forever, Chapter 7
"There is no chance I'm going to let you do this, Alec," Jace said, his tone threatening. "I'll wrestle you to the ground if I have to."
Magnus watched with bored eyes as Alexander seemed to blush at the mere thought of being taken down by Jace. "While that does sound tempting," he said, flipping the silk sleeves of his shirt back above his hands, "there is another way."
"What other way? This is a directive from the Clave. I can't just weasel out of it."
"But I can," Magnus replied with a devious grin. "Never doubt my weaseling abilities, Shadowhunter, for they are epic and memorable in their scope. I specifically enchanted the contract with the Inquisitor so that I could let you go for a short time if I desired, as long as another of the Nephilim was willing to take your place."
"Where are you going to find another—Oh," Alexander said, realizing half-way through his sentence what Magnus was implying. "You mean me."
Jace raised his eyebrows at him. "Oh, now you don't want to go to the Seelie Court?"
Magnus watched as Alexander began to blush.
"I think it's more important for you to go than me. You're Valentine's son, I'm sure you're the one the Queen really wants to see. Besides, you're charming."
Magnus wanted to gag, but instead just looked at Jace, who was glaring at Alexander.
"Maybe not at the moment. But you're usually charming. And faeries are very susceptible to charm," said Alexander.
"Plus," Mangnus said, looking at Alexander. "If you stay here, I've got the whole first season of Gilligan's Island on DVD." He winked.
"No one could turn that down," Jace muttered.
Alexander looked at Magnus in slight confusion and then back to Jace. "Isabelle can meet you in the park by Turtle Pond. She knows the secret entrance to the Court. She'll be waiting."
"And one last thing," Magnus said, pointing a perfectly-manicured fingernail at Jace, "Try not to get yourself killed in the Seelie Court. If you die, I'll have a lot of explaining to do."
--
Alec watched Magnus close the door as Jace, Clary, and Simon walked down the stairs.
"Who's Gilligan?" Alec asked from several steps away.
Magnus rolled his eyes and locked the door. "He's an unfortunate fellow who is klutzy and went on a three hour boat ride that—Well, it lasted a lot longer than three hours." He approached Alec and touched his face softly, "Much like I'm hoping their visit to the Queen will."
Blood rushed to Alec's face, turning his cheeks the same shade of red as Magnus's nail polish.
"It's been a while since I've had you to myself," Magnus said, leaning forward to brush his lips against Alec's. They stayed like that, unmoving, for several moments.
Alec moved first, but instead of pulling away the way he usually did, he deepened the kiss, raising his hand to cup Magnus's neck in his hand and tilting him back slightly to grant better access to his mouth.
Seeming emboldened by Magnus's compliance with his new-found bravery, he put his other hand on his shoulder and lightly pushed him backwards until he had him against the wall. Magnus pulled him closer and hesitantly slipped his fingers under the bottom of Alec's oversized sweater.
Alec gasped softly at the sensation of Magnus's warm fingers on the sensitive skin of his sides and then the cool feeling that followed when the cool metal of his rings pressed against him. It was all new to him... He hadn't ever let Magnus get below the surface. He was used to kissing him, touching him over his clothes—they were usually tight enough to leave little to the imagination—and receiving the same in return. But tonight there was something different. Alec didn't know what it was, but he felt like he was suddenly cold, like he wouldn't be able to be warm until Magnus's hands had touched every inch of his skin the way he was now.
And he wanted to do the same.
His mind was racing as he tried not to let this strange instinct overtake him. He didn't love Magnus, but then what was going on? Suddenly he couldn't get close enough to him, couldn't get enough of him. There was a part of him that was telling him to pull away, to tell Magnus that he just wanted to watch Gilligan or Top Model, but there was an unfamiliar pull from the back of his mind telling him just to put up his hands in defeat to his hormones and see what happens.
So he did.
Alec put his hands on Magnus's shoulders for a moment before raising them above his head tentatively, as though hoping that Magnus would understand without him having to say anything. He was afraid that if he did say something, it would come out horribly, horribly wrong.
Magnus seemed to pause for a moment and in that moment Alec realized how desperately he needed the contact between them. It wasn't just the hormones of a teenage boy, it was so much more than that, but at the same time he had no idea what it was. He just knew that he was going to go to hell for feeling it.
The fingers gripped the edge of his sweater as if asking if this was what Alec really wanted. Alec pulled away from their kiss but didn't open his eyes, just raised his arms out higher.
--
In the moment when Magnus pulled the sweater over Alexander's head, he realized exactly what was happening. He was reliving their last time. Though he was sure it wouldn't go that far tonight, he had a terrible feeling in the bottom of his stomach, knowing what had happened only two weeks later.
But as he dropped the sweater to the floor, he couldn't think about it anymore because Alexander was kissing him again and fiddling with the buttons on his shirt with unsure and trembling fingers.
Magnus brought his hands from Alexander's waist to help him with the buttons, a feat that was slightly difficult to do without the aid of sight, since their fingers kept interfering with each other. He knew it would have been easier to use magic, but he didn't want to ruin the moment by showing off his ability to make his shirt fly off of his body and into a neat, folded pile across the room. Although he knew that it was going to end up on the floor otherwise and it was silk and it would wrinkle, but as Alexander's fingers finally slipped past the buttons and touched his chest, Magnus decided that it would be worth the extra effort to iron out the wrinkles later.
As the shirt slipped off his shoulders, Alexander's mouth trailed away from his mouth to explore new territory, almost immediately finding the sensitive spot just below Magnus's collarbone. As the boy carefully played with the skin there, biting gently and then sucking, Magnus knew that his Alexander really was in there. No one else knew about that spot and Alexander had gone to it almost immediately.
Magnus gasped when Alexander applied more pressure, making Alexander jump slightly at the sound, but he didn't stop. He let his hands move up Alexander's back and then carefully ran his nails over the curve of his spine, making Alexander shiver and grip one of his hips harder.
He lifted one of his legs, wrapping it around Alexander's waist and aligning their hips, causing a lovely new kind of friction that Magnus was sure Alexander had never experienced before. Not only because he knew it, but because of the very audible sound that escaped his lips.
Magnus smiled.
Alexander kissed Magnus, as if telling him to wipe that grin off his face, and at the same time, the pair of them opened their eyes.
They stared at each other as they kissed, almost as if each was trying to read the other's mind, hoping that he was thinking the same thing and that they were on the same page. Magnus looked into Alexander's glass-blue eyes and wondered exactly what the boy was thinking at that moment.
--
Alec looked into Magnus's cat-like eyes as they kissed and couldn't help but wonder exactly what was so alluring about the intimacy of doing this while they kissed. He couldn't say that he could see much... Everything was out of focus and he knew he looked like a total cross-eyed dork, but he didn't care. It was pleasant.
He fought not to blink as his eyes began to feel as though someone was stuffing them with cotton balls. He didn't want to break the strange connection they seemed to have at that moment. He would blink when Magnus did, not a moment sooner.
Magnus, who was currently standing on one leg, shifted slightly, bringing the strange friction back to the forefront of his mind. He couldn't help but to close his eyes, feeling the fluid rushing behind his eyelids to rehydrate his poor pupils. But then there was something else...
A bright light seemed to explode inside his head, blinding him and dazing him. He opened his eyes and tried to blink, but the light had been so disorienting that he stumbled backwards, tripping over his sweater and sliding on the silk shirt Magnus had worn. As he tried to maintain his balance, he suddenly felt dizzy, like his head was growing exponentially and was too heavy for his shoulders.
"Alexander?" Magnus sounded concerned, and even though Alec couldn't see him, he could hear him approaching.
Alec, who had reached the other side of the wide hallway and was leaning on the wall, grasping his head in his hands, slowly let himself be lowered to the floor.
"Alexander, what's wrong?"
For the first time, Alec's mind didn't register that Magnus was calling him by his birth name. Instead, it sounded more natural for Magnus to call him that than his own parents, which was odd, since it generally came in the form of a scolding.
Alec opened his mouth to speak but discovered that he couldn't find words. He tried to open his eyes, but the light was still there, shining brightly and sending his head reeling, and made his eyelids feel heavy.
"Talk to me," Magnus said, touching his shoulder.
"There's a light..." Alec replied knowing how ridiculous he sounded.
"Then whatever you do, don't walk towards it," Magnus replied. Though his tone held amusement, Alec could still tell that he was worried.
Again he tried to open his eyes and this time he found success, but it was short lived. No sooner had he opened his eyes and blinked away the light, everything began to blur in and out of focus. He saw Magnus, crouched down in front of him and blinked several times.
"How many fingers?" Magnus asked, holding up his hand a few inches from Alec's face.
Alec blinked a few more times but as Magnus's hand swayed in front of him, he suddenly felt nauseated and leaned forward into his knees, closing his eyes.
"If you tell me what's wrong, I can try to fix it," Magnus said.
"I'm dizzy."
"Did I do something?"
"No... I—I don't know what it is. But, oh—" Alec tried to open his eyes as the light seemed to fade back in behind his closed eyes, but he failed. Heavy Eyelid Syndrome was taking effect again.
"You need to lie down," Magnus said and Alec heard him standing. "This is going to feel strange, but I'm going to levitate you to the bedroom. I apologize in advance if your head hits anything or if you suddenly find yourself on a coat hook." Again, his tone was joking, but Alec could tell that he was sincerely worried.
After a moment, he did feel something strange, like his stomach falling out under him, but it was overshadowed by the dizziness he felt that seemed to be traveling between his head, his toes, and every other fiber of his body. Before long, he felt himself being lowered into a feather-soft bed and then felt the side of the bed next to him shifting under Magnus's weight.
The light faded and he tried to open his eyes. Now he could see Magnus somewhat clearer, but not much.
Magnus smiled nervously, showing Alec his perfect smile, lined in lipstick that never seemed to smudge. "No fingers this time," he said. "How many of me are there?"
"Only one," Alec replied, trying to smile. "I don't know what I'd do if there were more than that."
"Do you want me to get you some water? Gingerale? Starbucks?" He paused. "Vodka?"
"I'm fine. I think... I don't know, I just got a little..." He didn't know how to describe it.
"You had some kind of a spell," Magnus said. "Which worries me, because you shouldn't be seeing bright lights."
"I didn't walk toward it," Alec replied.
"I doubt you would've been able to take two steps."
Alec looked at Magnus, who was on the edge of the bed and slowly coming more into focus. He could actually look at him now, could see all the marks that painted the caramel skin of his chest, and the new red mark that was starting to appear just below his collarbone.
"I think you just need to lay here for a while," Magnus said. "I'll go watch TV or something." He moved to get up, but Alec caught his arm.
"Would you stay with me? Just—Just in case it happens again or something. I don't want to be alone," Alec said. He knew he sounded foolish, but he really didn't like the idea that it could come back.
Magnus looked at him for a moment and Alec could almost see the gears working as he thought. He then sat down on the bed and said, "Do you want me to sit over there and watch you sleep or stay here?"
Alec, who was still holding onto his arm, gently gave him a pull and brought him down next to him. He wordlessly slipped into Magnus's arms, the only place that seemed to make sense right now, and curled into the warm skin he found. As he slipped into a welcomed unconsciousness, he wondered if Magnus thought he was crazy.
--
Magnus watched as Alexander fell asleep almost instantly. Well, of course he did, since Magnus was manipulating his mind to put him to sleep. In normal circumstances he never would have done it, but after what Alexander had just experienced, he thought it best that his body rest.
He's starting to remember, Magnus thought, tightening his arms around the sleeping form in his arms. The light... That's the only explanation for it...
It made sense... Even though Alexander had been finding old instincts that his former self had, it hadn't been memories that he was experiencing. If Magnus was right, now that something had triggered the light, Alexander would begin to remember his time with Magnus whenever something else was triggered.
I'll finally have him back, he thought with a smile. The problem was that there were so few things that Magnus could think of that would trigger memories. It wasn't that nothing was significant enough to be a trigger, of course every moment was significant, but from what Magnus understood of the spell, it would be small things that would bring the memories back to Alexander.
What had it been tonight? It had happened just after they had blinked away from their kiss, broken it momentarily. Magnus had opened his eyes again expecting to look back at Alexander, but the boy had been squeezing his eyes closed, like he was in pain. That hadn't been cause for alarm, since they had had their eyes open for a long time and his eyes probably burned when he closed them. The alarm had come when he had stumbled backwards, and Magnus hadn't only been worried because of his shirt (which was now probably irreparable), but because Alexander had looked so afraid, incapable of opening his eyes.
His first thought was that maybe Alexander was reliving a memory, but it wasn't a good one. When Alexander mentioned the light, Magnus knew almost immediately what was going on. Or at least, it was what he was hoping was happening.
It seemed like all he had anymore was hope. He hoped that Alexander would remember him, he hoped Alexander would choose him, he hoped Jace would be trapped forever in the Seelie Court for something stupid. Okay, so he wouldn't wish that on anyone, but it would've made his life easier if Jace wasn't in it.
Magnus knew that Jace was slowing down the process and even though he also knew that he only had himself to blame for that, he couldn't help but hold a grudge.
It is your fault, you know, he told himself. Not only did you ask for a protector, but the boy is pretty. Why are you so incapable of creating anything other than pretty?
Alexander shifted in his arms, bringing Magnus out of his rant to himself. He gently kissed Alexander's forehead and wondered silently if the boy even knew how Magnus felt about him. He couldn't possibly comprehend the level of commitment Magnus felt towards him, but he had to know that it meant something more than a casual fling, didn't he? Magnus hadn't charged the Shadowhunters for any of his recent services, which was sure to be raising eyebrows among the Downworlders of the area, but he didn't care. He just wanted Alexander to see how much he cared.
And he did care. So much.
But Alexander, who seemed to think himself unworthy of any praise, hardly seemed to see that he cared. Maybe, Magnus thought, Maybe if Jace wasn't so prevalent in his mind, he'd be able to see what was right in front of him.
Magnus sighed and tried to stop thinking about the blonde. There was only so much self-pity one could give in such a short time span and Magnus was sure that his anxiety was simply going to cause unwanted wrinkles that he would have to smooth on his face the next day.
For now, he decided to savor the new feeling of Alexander sleeping in his arms. Yes, he had gotten to before, but it was new now because Alexander wasn't in questionable health. In fact, Magnus thought he was better than he had been in a long time.
Because now he was on his way to being Alexander.